Can't Wait Any Longer
by somanyfeelings
Summary: Pepperony. Prompt: Pepper gets seriously hurt due to kidnapping, assassination attempt, or protecting Tony.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi! I hope to have the next chapter of Steps up by sometime this weekend, but in the meantime I'll be posting the prompts I asked for on Tumblr. :) Enjoy!

Four hours later, and they still didn't know who did it.

It had been a party like any other: music blaring, cameras clicking, his arm holding her securely around her waist. They had arrived fashionably late, due to Tony's inability to find a tie that matched his maroon shirt. Of course, he did have a dark yellow one he thought would work, but Pepper refused to be seen with him if he were to wear Iron Man colors. Her loss, he thought.

They had danced for quite a while, her head rested on his broad shoulder as one hand stroked his back. It was nice, peaceful. A welcome break from the chaos of their everyday lives.

She had yawned then, raising one hand to cover her mouth. "C'mon," he murmured. "You're tired. We should head home." Tony cursed himself now for making that statement; if he hadn't, maybe they would've stayed. Maybe things would've turned out differently.

Maybe she wouldn't have been shot.

Pepper had nodded groggily, extracting herself from his embrace. In place of his comforting hold, she grabbed his hand and tugged him off the dance floor.

The click of the cameras became frenzied as they stepped out into the cool breeze; the paparazzi yelled for their attention. There was nothing like being the CEO of the company hosting the gala to attract attention, apparently. "Mr. Stark! Tony Stark! Are you planning to hand over the suit? What do you think about-"

Then it happened. It was loud to begin with, with the buzz of conversation and the whirr of the cameras and the music in the background, but to him the shot was deafeningly loud. And Tony Stark, certified genius, had no idea what had happened until Pepper slumped to the ground beside him. It hit him, then, like another bullet; he dropped to his knees, hands scrambling frantically for a pulse, a reaction. Anything.

The world became blurry, wet. It crossed his mind that it had begun to rain until he realized it was just the tears pooling in his eyes. Paramedics rushed up to her limp body, shoving him out of the way. Tony stood, gaze fixed on the red carpet on which she had just walked. The deep red of her blood barely stood out against the walkway; somehow, the thought only made it worse. He wanted to scream, sob, kick and punch and wail. He wanted to shout that he was the hero, that she was his Pepper, that he'd give all of his money and fame and fortune to just have her next to him again. But he couldn't. He couldn't do anything.

Hours later, he was finally allowed into the room. Tony wasn't a relative, they had said, and they weren't married. They told him to go out, do something, get his mind off of it. He had laughed, quite humorlessly, in their faces.

But here he was, unease radiating from him. It was an uncomfortable feeling, one Tony Stark certainly wasn't used to.

"She'll survive," a voice remarked. Startled, Tony spun to see the doctor, clipboard in hand, tilt his head toward Pepper. "We think she'll make a full recovery in a matter of weeks. As you can see, Ms. Potts is resting, but-" The doctor glanced at his watch. "She might wake up soon." The man's eyes fluttered to Tony's fist, where he held a small box. "What's that?"

Tony didn't answer for a while, instead observing the women laying calmly in the hospital bed. It was such a far cry from how she had looked only hours before; for the first time that evening, he felt a bit of relief.

"Oh, this?" he replied, raising the box. "It's, uh.. It's a ring." He shrugged bashfully, cheeks flushing. "After tonight.. I guess I just.. I live a dangerous life. So does she. I've been fooling myself into thinking that we're invincible. But we're not, really. And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to either of us before I could tell her how much she really means to me, call her my wife at least once."

The doctor's eyes widened in surprise, a pleased grin spreading across his face. He held out one hand, offering, "That may just be the best thing I've heard all day. Best of luck." And, amidst their conversation, neither of them noticed the tiny flickering of a smile on Pepper's face.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I meant for this to be a one-shot, but several people suggested I continue it and show his proposal. So here you go!

vVvVvVvVvVv

Tony hadn't left her side. He knew every detail and intricacy of room now: how the floor had exactly 63 tiles, how the window overlooked the parking lot where four ambulances could usually be found, how the painting on the wall seemed to contain the same shades of baby blue as the walls themselves, and how the the only flash of color in the monotonous room was Pepper's beautiful red hair.

The doctors had tried to get him to leave several times. Surely Tony Stark had somewhere better to be, they'd claim. He'd retort by saying that without Pepper, he was lost. Then they had tried stating that hospital visiting hours ended quite a while ago. He felt slightly bad about doing it, but Tony reminded them of his billionaire status and the wing of the hospital that bore his name.

"And don't even try telling me I'm disturbing you, because she's just sleeping. I just want to be here when she wakes up."

So they let him stay, after he agreed to not cause any commotion. Their concern amused him; he wasn't going to suddenly pull out his suit and go around trashing the building. Unless he got too bored, that was.

Though, although Tony would never admit any weakness, he was starting to get rather tired of the food. Occasionally Happy would arrive with a cheeseburger or a pizza. But other than that.. He'd just say he had a lot of new respect for Pepper's cooking.

His eyes began to slip shut at last, the craziness of the day finally taking its toll on him.

"Tony?"

Her voice was softer than he'd ever heard it, barely audible. But his head snapped up right away.

"How are you? Does anything hurt? What can I do for you?

His questioning didn't even seem to register. "You're here."

Tony relaxed slightly; she seemed surprisingly lucid, normal. "Of course I'm here."

She didn't reply, though the small grin that graced her features was answer enough. Figuring that he might as well not waste any time, Tony continued, "Pep, I.. I wanted to ask you something. You've been working for me for, uh, I don't know, around eleven years? And-"

"Twelve and a half," she corrected him. "It's been twelve and a half."

Tony chuckled, tilting his head in acknowledgement. "I can't even remember what I did before you, Pepper. That time, when you helped me with the reactor, I told you I didn't have anyone else. I meant it. Without you, I'd probably either be dead or in jail by now." He paused, taking a moment to tuck a strand of hair behind her ears. "In Afghanistan, I was pretty sure that was it for me. And the thing that scared me most wasn't that. It wasn't that I was about to die, Pepper. It was that I never had the chance to say thank you to you. Not too long after that, I realized I was in love with you. And that scared the shit out of me. I was Tony Stark, playboy. I didn't fall in love." Her eyes were misty now, her lower lip bit; he just hoped that was a good sign. "You know, maybe I'm not as much of a genius as people think. Because it took me being adbucted and mortally wounded to realize I cared about you, and it took you being shot to realize that I can't live without you. So I'm going to stop being stupid now. We live dangerous lives; I couldn't live with myself knowing I never had the chance to ask you this."

With that, Tony stood from his chair, kneeling on one knee before the bed. "Will you, Pepper Potts, marry me?"

Her face contorted with shock; happiness clouded her gaze. And he knew, at that moment, that anything he could ever say to make her look like this was the right choice."Of course I'll marry you," Pepper responded without a second thought. Several tears slipped down her cheeks, and Tony lifted one hand to swipe them away. They spent a minute or so like this, her hand holding his to her cheek, gazes locked.

"Idiot," she chuckled, breaking the silence. His eyes widened in surprise, one eyebrow raised in an unasked question. "Only you would propose in a hospital."


End file.
